DepthFirst JEFO Redacted_Redacted.pdf

Attachment 4 U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Justification for Exception to Fair Opportunity (JEFO)

– RFO 16.507-6

March 2026

Date: 8/26/2026 PR Number: 20153350

1. Agency and Contracting Activity.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Acquisition, prepared this Justification for an Exception to Fair Opportunity for the acquisition of the DepthFirst Agentic Penetration Testing solution.

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

CBP intends to solicit a requirement using brand-name specifications among holders of the NASA SEWP V multiple-award indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract. Pursuant to RFO 16.507-7, restricting consideration to the DepthFirst Agentic Penetration Testing solution is justified as the product is peculiar to one manufacturer.

3. A description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency’s need (including the estimated value and the period of performance).

CBP requires the DepthFirst Agentic Penetration Testing solution. This requirement includes 10,000 annual application credits to facilitate continuous, Automated Intelligence (AI)-powered security assessments. The DepthFirst solution provides an autonomous, agentic AI platform that actively navigates CBP’s web applications and APIs to identify and validate complex vulnerability chains in real-time. By automating the reasoning and exploitation process, this tool bridges the gap between traditional, static scanning and manual penetration testing, ensuring continuous security validation across our digital infrastructure. The total estimated value for this requirement is for a one, twelve month period of performance.

4. Identify the exception to fair opportunity and provide supporting rationale, including a demonstration that the proposed contractor’s unique qualifications or the nature of the acquisition requires use of the exception cited.

X RFO 16.507-7. Brand-name justification for items peculiar to one manufacturer.

This procurement is in accordance with FAR 16.507-7 (FAR Class Deviation Number 26-04).

The exceptions at FAR 16.507-6(b) (FAR Class Deviation Number 26-04) do not apply, as this is a brand-name justification. However, the justification format at FAR 16.507-6(d)-(e) (FAR Class Deviation Number 26-04) applies and is modified to reflect brand-name justification.

Rationale:

The DepthFirst Agentic Penetration Testing solution is essential to the Government’s requirements because it provides a unique, autonomous AI-agent architecture capable of performing continuous penetration testing that maps to specific application business logic.

Market research indicates that other available products rely on static scanning or manual testing, which cannot keep pace with the scale and rapid deployment of CBP’s web applications and Application Programming Interfaces (API). This approach would introduce unacceptable risks, Justification for Exception to Fair Opportunity (JEFO) increase administrative burden, and fail to provide the continuous, automated security validation that is critical for protecting sensitive government data and mission-critical systems. DepthFirst is the only solution that utilizes autonomous AI agents to identify complex vulnerability chains that conventional tools miss.

5. Determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The Contracting Officer will determine that the anticipated cost is fair and reasonable using price analysis techniques via FAR 15.404-1, including competition among NASA SEWP V contract holders, comparison against the Independent Government Cost Estimate (IGCE), and review of the manufacturer’s published commercial price list for software licenses.

6. Any other facts supporting the justification.

Alignment with Federal Cybersecurity Mandates: The procurement of DepthFirst is essential to meeting the requirements set forth in Executive Order (EO) 14028, Improving the Nation's Cybersecurity and EO 14409, Promoting Advanced Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Security. DepthFirst provides the technical evidence and automated governance required to demonstrate compliance with these mandates, which disparate, non-integrated tools cannot provide.

Risk Mitigation Regarding Sensitive Data: The Cybersecurity Directorate is tasked with protecting highly sensitive data, including Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) related to the processing of aliens and enforcement actions against illegal immigration. The risk of exploitation via sophisticated, AI-driven attacks is a critical vulnerability. DepthFirst provides the only automated, continuous defense mechanism capable of identifying and validating these threats before sensitive data is compromised.

Operational Efficiency and Tool Consolidation: Procuring DepthFirst avoids the "tool sprawl" that would occur if the agency attempted to replicate its functionality through multiple, non-integrated vendors. Consolidating these functions into a single platform reduces the administrative burden on the Cybersecurity Directorate, lowers the total cost of ownership, and ensures a unified security posture across the enterprise.

Proactive Defense Against Adversarial AI: As the agency adopts AI-driven decision-support tools, it becomes a target for sophisticated adversarial exploitation. DepthFirst is specifically engineered to defend against these modern attack vectors by autonomously testing for vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. Relying on legacy security tools that were not designed for the AI lifecycle would leave the agency’s infrastructure exposed to exploitation, potentially undermining the integrity of border enforcement operations.

7. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers that led to the exception to fair opportunity before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services is made.

Justification for Exception to Fair Opportunity (JEFO)

– RFO 16.507-6

March 2026

The AI security and penetration testing market is currently in a state of rapid innovation. While DepthFirst is the only solution that currently meets the Government’s requirement for a fully integrated, agentic AI penetration testing platform, the agency recognizes that other vendors may develop similar capabilities in the future. To remove or overcome the barriers that led to this exception to fair opportunity, the agency will take the following actions prior to any subsequent acquisition:

Continuous Market Research: The Cybersecurity Directorate will conduct ongoing market research, including reviewing industry reports, attending technical demonstrations, and monitoring the capabilities of emerging AI security vendors.

Periodic Re-evaluation: Before the expiration of the current period of performance, the agency will re-evaluate the market to determine if other vendors have developed integrated platforms that provide the same level of agentic AI security and automated vulnerability chaining as DepthFirst.

Requirement Refinement: Should market research indicate that other vendors have achieved technological parity, the agency will update its requirements to reflect these advancements, thereby enabling a competitive procurement process for future acquisitions.

8. CBP intends to post this justification on www.sam.gov pursuant to RFO 16.507-7(c)(1).

9. Technical/Requirements Personnel Certification:

Pursuant to RFO 16.507-6(d)(2)(ix), I certify that this requirement meets the Government’s minimum need and that the supporting data, which form a basis for the justification, are accurate and complete.

8/17/2026 Date

10. Contracting Officer Certification and Approval:

Pursuant to RFO 16.507-6(e)(1), I certify that this justification is accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief and hereby determine that the circumstances for an exception to fair opportunity exist and legal review was obtained when required based on dollar value.

8/17/2026 Contracting Officer Date

MARY W

CARSON Date: 2026.08.17 11:26:38 -04'00'

Justification for Exception to Fair Opportunity (JEFO)

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